By the time most read this (since it's now 2 am), there should be lots more details...

North Korea conducts nuclear test

North Korea has staged a "successful" underground nuclear test, the state-run KCNA agency reports.
The agency says it was more powerful than the previous one in October 2006.
South Korea's president has convened an emergency security meeting and Japan is setting up a task force in the prime minister's office.
Just hours later, North Korea appeared to have test-fired a short-range missile, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported.
Pyongyang has so far not commented on Yonhap's report.
Following the announcement of North Korea's latest nuclear test on Monday, Japanese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kazuo Kodama said Tokyo would respond "in a responsible fashion" at the UN, without giving further details.
Russia's UN ambassador said an emergency meeting of the Security Council would be held later on Monday.
The military in South Korea formed a crisis team and went into emergency talks.
In Washington, a state department spokesman said officials were checking the report, "but we're not able to confirm at this time".
The European Union said that the development was "very worrying".
South Korea's stock market fell 4% on the news, over fears that regional tensions would rise.
The test is bound to bring widespread international condemnation, the BBC's John Sudworth in Seoul says.

'Problems resolved'

On Monday, KCNA said North Korea's test had been "aimed at strengthening its self-defence nuclear deterrent in every way".
"The current nuclear test was safely conducted on a new higher level in terms of its explosive power and technology of its control."
It said the results resolved "scientific and technological problems arising in further increasing the power of nuclear weapons and steadily developing nuclear technology".
The report gave no details of the location of the test.
However, South Korean officials said earlier that a seismic tremor was detected in the north-eastern part around the town of Kilju - the site of North Korea's first nuclear test.
Both South Korea's and the US geological agencies said the tremor on Monday morning indicated a nuclear explosion.
The US Geological Survey said the 4.7-magnitude quake was detected at 0054 GMT. It happened 10km (six miles) below the surface.
Last month, Pyongyang pulled out of six-party talks on its nuclear programme, in protest against international condemnation of its test-firing of a rocket on 5 April.
The UN Security Council adopted a statement calling on North Korea to comply with a 2006 resolution banning missile tests.
Pyongyang says its rocket carried a satellite, but several nations viewed it as cover for a missile test.
The six-party talks - involving the US, China, Japan, Russia and the two Koreas - have stalled over the failure of Pyongyang to verify the shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear plant.
North Korea agreed to dismantle the facility as part of an aid-for-disarmament deal and, in response, the US removed North Korea from its terrorism blacklist.

From BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8066615.stm)

Rockntractor

05-25-2009, 11:54 AM

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Monday that nuclear and missile tests conducted by North Korea were a "grave concern to all nations" and a legal violation that warranted action by the international community.

"North Korea's attempts to develop nuclear weapons, as well as its ballistic missile program, constitute a threat to international peace and security," Obama said in a statement after Pyongyang conducted a nuclear test and reportedly fired a short-range missile.

The nuclear test was a major diplomatic challenge to Obama at a time when he is facing a global economic crisis and working to curb Iran's nuclear enrichment program, which the West fears is aimed at producing nuclear arms but Tehran says is for energy.

Obama vowed when he took office to extend a hand to troublesome countries "willing to unclench your fist" but so far he has had little success with North Korea or Iran, which have continued to advance their nuclear programs and showed little interest in renewed dialogue.

We better keep a watchful eye out; this stuff could end up Iran's hand very easy.

Nubs

05-25-2009, 01:34 PM

We better keep a watchful eye out; this stuff could end up Iran's hand very easy.

It already is.

The Iranians, Syrians, and NK's are all developing it in cooperation with each other. Representatives of all three countries always seem to be at each others test events. I don't know why people can't see it. Dispersing development throughout a single country throws the IAEA into paralysis (ie IRAQ). How better to paralyze an organization, who already has a C1 fracture, by dispersing development throughout multiple countries.

Seems "Axis of Evil". Somebody may been right.

ironhorsedriver

05-25-2009, 04:59 PM

Wonder if Obambi will threaten Japan to roll over and play dead. He seems to support all the wrong sides in any conflict. True, Japan probably doesn't plan any strikes, and doesn't have quite as much at stake. But Koreans still despise the Japanese, in the North and South. I don't think the've done revisionist history 101 yet. Don't care for political correctness when it comes to Japan either.

noonwitch

05-26-2009, 10:02 AM

Time to start shooting their missles out of the sky. We should get the chinese to do it, though, since they are next door.